Sunday, October 30, 2011

Super excited to reveal this year's Halloween project:SWAMP FOETUS.Something I've wanted to do for a really long time - make a movie. So instead of a yard haunt theme, Swamp Foetus refers to a short film Bean and I have made over the last 9 months.And it couldn't have happened without her. It would have remained a bunch of rough sketches on a bunch of old paper.

The movie's score is a fantastic original piece by my friend Jon Glassett. I'm floored that he did this for me. It is truly stunning. And I'm way beyond grateful.

In addition to the film, I'll be posting a SWAMP FOETUS image gallery in the days ahead, as well as photos from our yard haunt tonight, a modest and traditional affair, unrelated to the Swamp Foetus theme.

So click below to watch the film (or download and save it).

Or click HERE to watch it on Youtube...though I'd recommend viewing it first by clicking above.

Amazing!!! Absolutely amazing Pumpkinrot! Cudos to you and Bean for a job well done. I can imagine that you two had a blast doing it. =) Just a perfect combination of gorgeous props and beautifully creepy music. I love it!!! And now I can forgive you for not putting up a scarecrow at Peddlers Village LOL! I kid I kid...although it really wasn't the same. ;-)

I really enjoyed the film! Fantastic, and *incredibly* creepy. Your witches are THE BEST and it felt SO WEIRD to be watching her move, like I wasn't supposed to be seeing it, lol. LOVED the score. LOVED the Tinies, so fun!I can't say anything new from what everybody else has said, but you guys are so awesome and talented. You are making Halloween a fresh and fun holiday every day . I am still eagerly looking forward to your yard haunt, be it modest or not. HAPPY HALLOWEEN to you and Bean!!!

Amazing! Rot and Bean you did a marvelous job. The story, scenery, props and music all blended together beautifully. And gosh that witch is creepy. I'll be watching this again and again. Were these new shooting locations or ones you have used before?

Happy Halloween to you both, I haven't seen the video yet, but just couldn't hold my excitement... Bretchen has been my favorite since you introduced the series, but I think Furn and Grickle are sneaking up on my adore list....

This was so wonderful, really cheered me up on a Halloween that has being going not-so-well. (Greedy trick-or-treaters plus real life stuff.) Fantastic job, Rot and Bean. You truly are both masters of Halloween spookiness.

OMG OMG OMG OMG! What an amazing treat! You all did such a great job! The special effects with the corpse totally floored me. I also loved the witch's face, the first cavelike set with the candles, the purplish-red sunset wide shot, and the tombstones. SO many memorable images in this short film. And the music fit perfectly! Wow. I mean, damn--you guys really made something special. I always thought your props would be great on film, and boy was I right!I also LOVE the additions to the Tinies. Elsa is incredible!HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!!!!!

SWAMP FOETUS is amazing. I never dreamed that you would end up making a short film - this is incredible.

Prepare for a LONG comment.I couldn’t help but gush like the mad fanboy that I am.

Chronological evaluation of SWAMP FOETUS:

The wall of candles is amazing! I love all the dripping wax! The wall seems to be made entirely out of tissue mache - dang!

The witch comes into view with her creepy skeletal face and black eyes - she looks stunning!Love the shot of her running her long black fingers over the pumpkin, and then lifting off the lid with all the dangly guts attached. The table is also a very rot-esque tissue mache design - fantastic!

The little pumpkin foetus seems almost cute in its first stages of growth – that doesn’t last long ;) Very cool to see Bean’s work in a non-Etsy prop of yours.

All the long shots of her journey are great! So cool that Johnny Appleseed made a guest appearance. The witch’s long black cloak looks amazingly spooky blowing in the wind. The woods she ventures into remind me a lot of the woods in ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ – the ones that Jack wanders into one late Halloween night. Those rolling hills and tall colourless trees. It looks so very cool and creepy!

I really like the subtle transition between spooky forest and spooky graveyard. Seeing the statues, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the terrifying ‘Weeping Angels’ from Doctor Who (if you haven’t heard of them, look it up on YouTube. Nightmare-inducing stuff).

My already unbearable excitement rocketed when she stopped in front of the old, gothic mausoleum. The shot of the doors opening is my favourite shot in the whole thing - the ancient cobwebbed doors pulling apart and letting in rays of white light looks amazing!!! When light then fell on the desiccated corpse in the coffin I nearly died of awesome.

She plucks the pumpkin foetus out of its orange home, and it tilts up its tiny head and raises its tiny arms like a baby taken out of the womb months early.

The special effects in the next sequence are so insanely cool. The pumpkin foetus wriggling and squirming into the ribcage of a rotten corpse is spine-tingling. The black ichor splurting from the corpse’s open mouth looks amazing. But the best part comes when the foetus grows inside the corpse’s torso. The decayed skin on its belly splitting and pulsing, the black mush that was its internal organs showing between the cracks.

I was amazed when the pumpkin child emerged from the corpse, shakily trying to stand and then raising its head towards its mother. Its movements look so real and natural! No idea how you managed that.

Another favourite shot of mine is the witch crossing the field at dusk. I really loved the change in music as she journeyed through the swamp, but I’ll talk more about Jon’s amazing score later.

The strange tree-like growth that she placed her baby on looks super-cool and very organic. It reminds me a little of a ribcage. Of course, the very best part of the film was the slow zoom out showing all the other pumpkin/skeleton creatures in their various stages of growth.

*End of chronological evaluation. Not end of comment!*

The props in the film were all stunning. I loved the witch costume, especially the tall crooked hat. The pumpkin foetus was amazing, and very cool to see grow throughout the film. It’s elongated head reminds me of Pumpkinhead. It’s thin legs and arms made it seem both creepy and fragile, just as a baby should be (except for the creepy part!). The mausoleum corpse looks great and so very real, it send shivers up my spine. Finally, the swamp pumpkin and/or skeleton things are so cool and inventive – I LOVE their long noses and general absolutely-amazing-ness. I am very curious as to how you did the effects, but I’m afraid it’d spoil that special movie magic.

The score by Jon Glassett is his very best work yet. The pounding drums, Carpenter-esque synths and strange sounds all add to the epic feel of SWAMP FOETUS. There are parts of the score that sound like trumpets, bells and violins. Listening with headphones gives the full amazing effect. It progresses flawlessly throughout the film, and changes to fit the feel of each scene. The score seems to grow like the foetus itself, and is a superb mix of Dark Ambient, John Carpenter and epic orchestral-ness. So many spooky sounds and synths – Jon did an incredible job.

The new Tinies are lovely and creepy. Elsa scares the hell out of me. Really. I can’t look at that picture without feeling truly unsettled. Furn is so very cool, I love your props that seem like animals. Grickle has a great old-school look about him, and the long list is like a twisted version of Santa’s good/bad list. I can imagine him ticking off each corpse with it’s own blood. And Hesh is an almost charming figure, all dressed up in his best suit. VERY cool.

I am most eagerly awaiting your 2011 gallery. Cannot wait to get a good look at those props in the last shot of the movie.

Amazing work, Rot, Bean and Jon. SWAMP FOETUS is a film right up there with Trick ‘r Treat.

Due to the early winter our town has been without power since Saturday. No power. No internet. No heat. First thng I did when we got our power back was to see what treat you left us. This video definitely warmed me up and lifted my Halloween Spirit...

Love the film--it's a Hallowinner! The Tinies are great too. I'm sure you know Creature Feature, a band that makes dark but fun Nightmare Before Christmas-like music. One of my favorites is "A Gorey Demise", the perfect song to accompany your Tinies.

WOW. Just fantastic, Rot, Bean, and Jon! I have to say, my very favorite part was when the little larva/fetus thing wriggles into the corpse and then when the newborn emerges and looks up at mother. SPINE CHILLING and just freakin awesome. Your props are always magnificent, but your props MOVING...holy nightmare-come-to- life, Batman! BRAVO!

Great work, Rot. I think this is your best film yet. The illusions are uncanny...the world needs more puppetry. That witch is alive! It's a hauntingly beautiful piece, as usual, but the fact that you matched the feeling of the images and movements to the look of your creatures (with a digital camera, no less!) is really something. Bravo. Can't wait to see the next one.